Is this image AI generated?

Drop an image to read the labels AI tools and cameras leave inside the file: Content Credentials, IPTC tags, stored prompts and camera data. Everything is read on your device.

PROVENANCE SCANNERReady
Drop an image to see what its file says

JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF or HEIC. Read on your device, never uploaded.

Choose an image
or paste one with Ctrl + V
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How the check works

1

Drop or paste an image

Drag a file onto the scanner, choose one, or paste it with Ctrl+V. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.

2

Every layer is read

The scanner looks for Content Credentials, XMP and IPTC tags, PNG text chunks, EXIF camera data and embedded comments.

3

Read the verdict

The result says what the file declares about itself, from AI generated to no record at all.

4

Check the evidence

Each finding shows where it came from and how much weight it carries. Copy the report if you need to share it.

The labels this tool reads

An image file is more than pixels. It can carry several blocks of metadata, each written by different software for a different reason. These are the ones that say something about where an image came from.

LabelWhere it livesWho writes itWhat it tells you
Content Credentials (C2PA)A signed manifest inside JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and HEIF filesOpenAI, Adobe Firefly, Google Nano Banana Pro, some camerasWhich tool made the file, who signed it, and whether a step was generative AI
IPTC digital source typeXMP metadataMeta AI and software that follows IPTC guidancetrainedAlgorithmicMedia means fully AI generated, compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia means AI edits inside a real image
Generator settingsPNG text chunks and EXIF commentsStable Diffusion interfaces such as AUTOMATIC1111, ComfyUI, InvokeAI and NovelAIThe prompt, seed, sampler and model used to create the image
Camera dataEXIFCameras and phonesCamera model, lens and exposure. Easy to copy or type in, so only a hint
Editing softwareEXIF and XMPPhotoshop, Lightroom, GIMP and other editorsWhich apps saved the file along the way
Invisible watermarksHidden in the pixelsGoogle SynthID and othersOnly the maker's own detector can read them, so this page cannot

What each result means

AI generated
The file declares generative AI, through Content Credentials, an IPTC tag, stored prompts or a named AI tool.
Edited with AI
The file declares that AI changed part of a real image, for example with generative fill.
Signed capture
Content Credentials say a camera captured the image. The signature still needs checking elsewhere.
Content Credentials
The file carries credentials, and none of the recorded steps is generative AI.
Credentials online
The file links to credentials stored on a server instead of carrying them.
Camera data
The file has a camera model and exposure settings and no AI markers. A hint, not proof.
No record
Nothing in the file says how it was made. Common, and not a verdict on the image either way.

Who labels their AI images

OpenAI began adding C2PA metadata to images generated in ChatGPT and its API in February 2024, so anyone can see that an image came from its products. It also warns that this metadata can be removed by platforms, editing tools and file conversions.

Adobeautomatically applies Content Credentials to images made entirely with Firefly, such as Text to Image. Those credentials name Adobe as the issuer and record the AI tool used, and they may be kept in Adobe's public Content Credentials cloud, which is why some files only link to their credentials instead of carrying them.

Google hides an invisible SynthID watermark in images from its AI models. Since November 2025 the Gemini app can check an uploaded image for it, and images made with Nano Banana Pro in the Gemini app, Vertex AI and Google Ads also include C2PA metadata.

Meta marks photorealistic images made with Meta AI in three ways: a visible label, an invisible watermark, and IPTC metadata with the digital source type set to trainedAlgorithmicMedia.

Local Stable Diffusion setups are often the easiest to spot. Popular interfaces such as AUTOMATIC1111 and ComfyUI save the full prompt, seed and settings, or the whole node workflow, into every PNG they write, unless the user turns it off.

Why a clean result proves nothing

Metadata travels with a file only as long as every app along the way keeps it. A screenshot creates a brand new file with none of it. Many social networks and messaging apps strip metadata on upload, and most editors and converters, including the tools on this site, write a fresh file without the old labels. A "no record" result is therefore the most common outcome for images found online, whether they came from a camera or a generator.

When the file has nothing to say, look at the image and its source instead:

  • Search for the image with Google Lens or TinEye to find the earliest copy and who posted it first.
  • Read any text in the picture. Signs, labels and screens are often garbled in generated images.
  • Check hands, teeth, ears, jewelry and glasses, where the two sides of a face often disagree.
  • Follow reflections and shadows. They should agree with each other and with the light source.
  • Look at the background for melting shapes, repeated faces or objects that merge into each other.
  • For images that may come from Google AI, upload them to the Gemini app and ask whether they were made with Google AI.

None of these checks is proof on its own either. Newer generators make fewer of these mistakes every year, so the source of an image usually tells you more than its details.

If you publish AI images

Some platforms require the label to stay. Google Merchant Center, for example, asks that every product image created with generative AI keep the IPTC digital source type set to trainedAlgorithmicMedia, and tells sellers not to remove it. Upload the original file from the generator in that case, and check it here first to confirm the label is present. Resizing or compressing it with a canvas based tool, including the ones on this site, will remove the label.

To see or remove the rest of a photo's metadata, such as GPS location, use the EXIF viewer, and read our guide to photo metadata and privacy.

From our researchHow to Tell If an Image Is AI Generated in 2026We ran AI labelled files through 10 everyday edits to see which ones kept the label.

Frequently asked questions

Can this tool tell for sure if an image is AI generated?+
It can confirm what the file itself declares. If an AI tool wrote a label into the file, the result says so and shows the evidence. If the file carries no label, the check cannot tell either way, because metadata is easy to lose.
Why does my AI image show no record?+
Its metadata was probably removed. Screenshots never carry it, many social networks and messaging apps strip it on upload, and re-saving through an editor or converter can drop it. Some generators never add labels at all.
What are Content Credentials?+
Content Credentials is the public name for C2PA, an open standard for a signed record inside a media file that says which tools made it and what changed. OpenAI, Adobe and Google add it to images from some of their AI tools, and some cameras sign photos with it.
Does this tool verify the C2PA signature?+
No. It reads the manifest and shows who signed it, but it does not check the cryptographic signature or the certificate chain. Use the Content Credentials Verify site for that.
Can it detect Google SynthID watermarks?+
No. SynthID is hidden in the pixels and only Google's own tools can read it. Since November 2025 you can upload an image to the Gemini app and ask whether it was made with Google AI.
Is camera data proof that a photo is real?+
No. EXIF camera data is plain text that any editor can copy from another photo or type in by hand. The camera sample on this page is an illustration with made-up camera data, and it passes as a camera photo.
Is my image uploaded?+
No. The file is read by JavaScript in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, so private images stay on your device.
Which formats can it read?+
Content Credentials are read from JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC and TIFF files. EXIF and XMP are read from the same formats. GIF and BMP files open, but Content Credentials are not checked in them.
Will converting or compressing an AI image remove its label?+
Usually, yes. Most image tools redraw the picture and save a new file without the old metadata, and the tools on this site work that way too. If a label has to stay, as Google Merchant Center requires for AI product images, keep and upload the original file.

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